Tomorrow Will Be Better
by SopranoGhostWriter
Summary: AU-Modern day. Albany Odair is the daughter of infamous war hero Finnick Odair, who never treats her kindly. Her mother, Annie, never comes out of her bedroom in fear of the always drunk Finnick. Over time, Albany has learned to be cautious and alert around others, but when she meets a guy named Cato while she is trying to help her mother, she doesn't know how to act. Cato/OC
1. 1: Day of Pain

**Hello! Yay, new story! :D Hopefully, you will like this... I've had this idea for a while now, but I just didn't really know how to start it right. Now, though, it has been accomplished. Enjoy the first chapter of Tomorrow Will Be Better! :)**

"Mom?" I whisper through my mom's bedroom door in the dark of the night. The only thing that escapes the bottom of the door is sobbing sounds. "Mom, are you okay?" Again, she doesn't talk, just cries. I glance up at the simple, black-rimmed clock the hangs on a wall in the messy living room. It's 2:45 in the morning. Even though the moon is out, the living room is still dark. Slowly, I grab the door knob and open the door to find her curled up under a single blue comforter, shaking from all the sobbing she has been doing. Her tangled, dark brown hair is spread out all around her head, and tear tracks are stained onto her pale cheeks. In her hand is a single picture of her and my father, General Finnick Odair. For a whole year, he has been at war in some small country that I've never heard of, and ever since my mother and I got the letter that he is coming back in a week two days ago, she hasn't left this room. In the picture, they actually look happy. Of course she would be happy; it was her perfect wedding day. Then, everything started going downhill. My father's personality has changed ever since he went into the military when I was seven. At first, he was this sweet guy who loved my mom and would do anything for her and me. When he joined the military, though, he started to become cold and rude. He started drinking and getting into trouble with his war troupe and the media. Rumors spread, and controversies started growing. Before my mother and I knew it, my father had turned into the infamous war hero that we wished we didn't know. Sure, he is the best of the best, but nobody outside of our family's apartment in New York City really knows him.

"Go back to sleep, I'm fine." She chokes out, crying even harder. I've never seen her like this before. She has always been either quiet and anxious-looking or happy and smiling, but never crying her eyes out. Or, at least not that I have heard.

"No, Mom, you're not fine." I mutter, hurrying over to where she is laying. My bronze, brown streaked hair flies behind my head as I quickly sit down on the comforter next to her, brushing away the scattered, crumpled tissues. Cautiously, I put my hand on her back, and she starts freaking out. Her arms are flying around every which way and her legs are kicking blindly in front of her.

"Albany, leave me alone!" she shrieks, backing away from me. She pushes herself off of her bed and cowers into the corner of the room. "I don't want you to see me like this. Go back to bed."

"Mom, please! Let me help you this one time. I want to help you." My high-pitched voice pleads as I creep towards her. Her sea green eyes stare at me with sorrow and confusion as I get closer to her. When my father comes back, I will have only one question for him: how could he do this to his own wife? He doesn't even care about her anymore, he only cares about himself. Instead of saying anything, my mom just shakily stands up and launches herself into my arms. Instantly, she starts bawling, and the shoulder of my striped blue and gray shirt quickly becomes soaked with tears. We stand there for a long time, and I don't disturb her. At least I am as tall as she is, so I don't have to bend over or stand on my toes to get to her height. This is one of the only times I have ever got through to her. Even though we both feel the same amount of pain because of my father, she always keeps to herself. She locks herself in her and my father's bedroom whenever my father is home, and whenever he wants to come in, she locks herself in their closet. I've actually seen it. Finally, after a minute, she pulls away from me, wiping away her tears. I wish I knew what I could tell her to make her feel better, but I don't. I've never been good with words.

"Go back to bed, and don't come back in here. Ever." Mom orders, sniffling lightly. Her voice actually sounds really scary, compared to the voice she normally has.

"But Mom, I just-"

"Get out, now!" she yells, pointing at the door. "I don't want you coming in here again." Unexpected tears forming in my eyes, I stomp over to the door.

"I just wanted to help, Mom." I spit out, ripping the door open and heading out of her bedroom. Angrily, I march down the hall to my tiny bedroom and pull the door open. Once I'm inside, I slam the door shut and flop onto the stiff bed. If only my father wasn't like he is, we wouldn't be having these problems. I bite my lip to hold back tears as I reach over to my nightstand next to my bed to grab the only thing that can bring me comfort in moments like this: my iPod. Quietly, I turn it on, stick my earbuds in my ears, and play the song I was listening to last time: Eyes Open by Taylor Swift. Drifting into sleep, the words start to finally make sense to me.

**What do you think? Good? Bad? 'Meh'? Please review! :D Hope you liked it! Sorry it's short... **

**RANDOM WORDS OF THE DAY:**

_**"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."**_

**-SopranoGhostWriter :)**


	2. 2: Day of Worry

**Hello readers! Sorry I haven't updated in so long, lots of stuff has been going on in my life, and I just haven't had time. Thanks for understanding! Hope you like Chapter 2! :)**

"Hey, Albany, wait up!" a voice calls behind me as I load all of my schoolbooks back into my cramped locker. Today is Friday, which means the end of my school week. It also means that it's the beginning of Mom's therapy sessions. Since she is labeled too unstable to drive, I am entitled to drive for her. Taking her to her therapy sessions is never fun, though. Here is the schedule: come home from school, make sure Mom is ready to go to the therapist, take her to the therapist, wait in the waiting room for an hour, and finally take her home. Then, occasionally, she will blabber on and on about how she thinks the therapist hates her, and she doesn't stop complaining until you finally agree that he hates her, and then she starts crying because you think that, and it takes forever to calm her down again. It's a long process that I have to repeat every single weekend. "Albany!"

"Yes?" I sigh, exasperated, and once I turn around, I find my best friend Peeta rushing up in front of me and then stopping. His dirty blonde hair is scattered out all around his head, and his beautiful blue eyes meet with my sea green ones.

"I thought you were going to leave without me!" he exclaims, laughing, and I laugh too. Peeta and I have known each other for quite some time now... in fact, ever since kindergarten, we have always stuck together. Even when our first middle school dance came up, we went together. Of course, only as friends. Our other friends didn't think that, though. Now, even though we are juniors, we're still friends, and that is how it is going to stay.

"Of course I wouldn't leave without you, Peeta." I say in a baby voice, playfully pinching his cheek. He starts laughing again, pushing my hand away.

"Anyway, are you almost done putting your books away yet? Don't you have to leave for your mom's therapy in an hour or something?" he asks, and I carefully put the last book (my Social Studies book) and my assignment binder in my ordinary, blue-and-gray striped backpack. Finally, I throw my backpack on my shoulder, and Peeta slams my locker shut for me.

"Okay, now we can go." I tell him. He grins at me and holds out his hand.

"Do I have to hold your hand while we cross the street?"

"No, I think you will be just fine." I reply, patting his shoulder. We have always had a little game of 'safety first' whenever we are together, ever since we started walking to school together in 1st grade. Peeta laughs once again, and, lowering his hand, starts walking towards the wide glass double doors in the front of the school. I run after him, and my backpack hits my back every time I take a step. Once I catch up to Peeta, who is waiting by the doors, he pulls open one of the doors for me, and I walk through, shooting him a kind smile.

"So..." he starts after we walk out of the doors and down the old concrete steps that lead to the school. The cool October air hits my face as I walk. "Do you have to take your mom to her therapy session today?"

"Yeah, just like every Friday afternoon." I reply over my shoulder. Peeta is the only one besides me who really knows what goes on inside my house.

"Oh. Well, do you need me to do anything for you?"

"Yes. How about make sure my dad doesn't come back home tomorrow?"

"Ah, so he's coming home again after how long? Five months?" Suddenly, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Nodding, I reach into my pocket for my phone and flip it open to find my mom's caller ID.

"Hold on, I have to take this call." I mutter, pressing the accept button and holding the phone up to my ear. My state of mind quickly changes from being teasing to comforting. "Hello, Mom!"

"Is this the kid?" an unrecognizable voice comes through the phone. I narrow my eyes and stop walking. Peeta stops too and glances at me with a confused expression on his face. Who is calling from my mom's phone? It surely isn't anyone that I know, telling from the person's voice. They sound like they could be a guy, but I can't be completely sure.

"Um, yeah. Who is this? Where is my mom?" I start questioning.

"Your mom is currently not conscious and lying on the ground." This reply doesn't reassure me, if that is what he was trying to do. In fact, this really worries me. This person could have hurt my mom.

"What did you do to her?!" I shout into the phone.

"I didn't do anything!" the person defends. "I was just walking back to my house, but all of the sudden, I saw someone driving along, and before I knew it, they crashed into a tree. When I got over to the car, I saw that the driver was a woman, and I pulled her out of the car. She gave me her phone, told me to call her kid, and then she passed out. Now, she's lying on the ground."

"Oh God, I told her not to drive." I mumble. Shaking my head, I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers. "Okay, okay. Where did she crash?" The person gives me the details of where my mom crashed, and I nod to acknowledge the information. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"You might want to hurry up. She really doesn't look too good. Her face is getting paler by the minute."

"I'll be there as soon as I can!" I repeat, slightly annoyed as I hang up. Sighing, I shove the phone back into my pocket. Quickly, I throw my backpack on the ground and start rummaging through it for any possible money for a cab. Unfortunately, I find out that I don't have any, and I zip my backpack up in defeat. "Peeta, do you possibly have any money in your backpack that you could loan me?"

"I don't know. Let me check." Peeta answers, repeating the same process as I check my pockets. Nope, not there either. After a minute, his hand flies out of his backpack and into the air. "Aha! Found some."

"How much?" I ask, snatching the small wad of money out of his hand and counting it. He zips his backpack up again and throws it onto his shoulder.

"Should be about $15, I think." He informs me. When I have counted up the money, it indeed equals to $15. "What is this about, anyway? Why do we need money?"

"It's really a long story, but if you can call a cab, I'll tell you on the way there." I reply, staring at him with puppy eyes. After a minute, he sighs and walks over to the side of the traffic-filled street in front of school, waving his hand in front of the passing cars. Finally, after a few attempts, he manages to get a cab, and it pulls over in front of him.

"Shall we?" Peeta inquires, smirking at me. Walking over to the cab, I smirk at him and nod as I climb into the back seat. The aroma of the inside of the car is disgusting, with the mixed scents of sweat, garlic, and other things that I don't want to think too much about. Peeta gets in after me and sets his backpack behind him. I hand $2 to the driver, who only has three fingers on one of his hands, and he accepts it without a word. After I tell him the destination, he turns around in his seat and immediately presses his foot on the gas pedal. I have to press my feet against the wall in front of me to keep my head from flying into the glass. While the driver heads to the crash site, I explain the situation to Peeta and hand back the money. Even though he tells me to keep it, I shove it in his backpack. All I can do now is hope and pray that Mom hasn't been hurt too seriously.

**Who doesn't love our brilliant Peeta? :D So... what do you think? Good? Bad? 'meh'? Please let me know... I like to know what you think about the story! :D Also, happy late Thanksgiving everyone! (ps, who do you think the person was that called from Annie's phone?)**

**RANDOM WORDS OF THE DAY:**

_**"Never ignore a person who loves you, cares for you, and misses you, because one day, you might wake up and realize that you lost the moon while counting the stars."**_

**-SopranoGhostWriter :)**


	3. 3: Day of Surprise

**Hello my beautiful readers! I am soooooooo sorry that I haven't updated in what, two months? Wow, that's horrible. I made this chapter long so that it *possibly* make up for the long absence. So, without further ado, chapter 3! :)**

Once the cab stops, I quickly pull on the handle of the door and hop out. Peeta follows behind me and once he shuts the cab door, the cab sails away. The last ten minutes has felt more like eternity, but at least we are finally here. It seems more like an ordinary suburban countryside than the outskirts of New York City. The sky is a light shade of blue, with puffy little clouds dotting it and the sun shining down as bright as ever. It's hard to remember that it's October, considering that in a normal October month, the sky would be overcast and it would be darker than normal. Oh well. The sound of loud talking and slight hissing makes both Peeta and I turn around, and when I see the scene, I almost hyperventilate. A big oak tree is now in the middle of the hood of my mom's black SUV, and there is my mom, lying on the ground next to it.

"Oh, thank God you got here!" a voice calls, and a guy comes from behind the car and starts running towards me. The first thing that I notice about him is his crystal blue eyes. Oh wow, those eyes are probably the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Immediately, I start to find him a little attractive. Then, his golden blond hair and how tall he is adds onto it. "I was starting to think that you weren't going to come." He smiles a little at me, laughing with relief. Right now, I have to focus on how my mother is. I can't think about how attractive he is.

"I have to get to my mom." I state as I run past him and across the dying grass towards my mother's unconscious body on the ground. "Mom!"

"Huh?" I hear my mom sigh. I kneel on the ground next to her, and her eyes open. Suddenly, I notice the deep gash in her head and the blood running down the side of her face. "Oh, hello Albany. How was school?"

"Why did you go out without me?" I shriek.

"Why did I what?" she asks. How did she not hear me?

"Why were you trying to get to the therapist's office without me? You know that you can't drive with you being in the position you're in." I say, trying to keep myself calm. At least nothing worse happened.

"Oh, well, they called and said that I had to come in earlier than usual, so I tried to get there myself. You were still in school, and I didn't want to pull you out."

"Mom, you HAVE to pull me out of school if something like that happens! You cannot just go by yourself! You could have gotten hurt worse than this." I tell her, extremely annoyed. She can't just drive herself to the therapist's office! What was she thinking? Inwardly groaning, I turn around and find the guy that called me here behind me. "Are the paramedics coming, or do I have to drive her to the hospital?"

"I called a few minutes ago. They should be getting here any minute." He informs me, and I nod. Peeta walks over and pulls me into a hug, and I sigh into his shirt.

"Don't worry, your mom is going to be fine. I'll help. She likes me, doesn't she?" Peeta murmurs, and I nod again.

"I know, Peeta, I know. That's not the only thing that I have to worry about. My dad is going to come home tomorrow, and if she is in the hospital when he gets there, I'll go deaf from all of his ranting and screaming. Plus, there are the medical bills that I have to pay, and I don't know if I'll have enough money to pay." I explain, on the verge of crying. I just don't know what I am going to do. How will I be able to pay my mom's medical bills? Right now, I can barely pay the therapist to give her 30-minute sessions, and the money my dad earns either goes to pay the water and electric bills, or he is out spending it on endless shots of booze. Everything is just so confusing, and I don't know how my dad will react if my mom is in the hospital when he gets home. I hear sirens in the distance, and finally, when Peeta lets go of me, an ambulance pulls up alongside the scene of the accident. All of the events afterwards come in a blur. The guy who called me helps Peeta and I get my mom into the back of the ambulance, and then the ambulance speeds away. All three of us get into the guy's car and follow the ambulance to the hospital. All of us introduce ourselves to each other, and I find out that the guy's name is Cato. We wait a little in the waiting room until the gray-haired doctor helping my mom comes out to where we are all sitting, and he motions for me to walk over to him.

"Are you family to Mrs. Odair?" his squeaky voice asks.

"Yes, I'm her daughter Albany." I reply, looking down at him. He is a little shorter than I am.

"Well, Albany, your mother is going to be fine." He tells me, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. "Also, though, we discovered that your mother has had more medical problems before the accident."

"What do you mean?" I ask him, becoming a little more worried. Is he talking about my mom's craziness? I just always thought that it was just something that she could get over.

"Your mother has adjustment disorder." He sighs. I just stare at him, telling him to go on.

"What is adjustment disorder?"

"Adjustment disorder is when an individual has had a traumatic event or accidents happen in their life, and they develop emotional and behavioral problems in effect to that. Have you noticed emotional and behavioral problems in your mother?" the doctor matter-of-factly continues. I… I don't know how to respond to this. My mother actually has something wrong with her? I just thought it was something that would go away. It's probably my dad who caused this. He is the one who caused her to become crazy in the first place. Overwhelming anger starts coursing through my veins. He did this! The famous 'war hero' is the one who made my mother become crazy! I just… I just… don't know anymore.

"Um… yeah." I say, actually quite stunned.

"For how long?"

"Maybe… I don't know, maybe about a year. My father is in the military, and he went to a war. He came back about five months ago for a week, but my mom was acting weird even then." I informed him. I notice that his eyes widen a little, but he conceals his surprise and nods.

"Miss Odair, your mother shouldn't have had it for longer than six months. Are there any traumatic events that are linked to your father going to war?" I have to think about that for a minute. Has my mom done anything so horrible in the last few months that made her whole personality change? I don't think so.

"I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything." I respond. He unsurely nods.

"Okay. Well, for the total medical bill, it will probably be about $750.43." he nonchalantly replies. I can't pay that! I don't even have a job yet! I've been trying to get one, but I just never have enough time that I can actually put into the job. Now I have to pay over $750.

"Is there any way that I can reduce it?" I hopefully ask, even though I know the answer. The doctor simply shakes his head. Groaning, I run my hand through my hair. "I'm not sure how I am going to pay that."

"Well, you are going to have to figure out something. We have to get $750.43." he replies, turning around and walking back through the doors that he came from. It all finally hits me. My mother actually has a real disorder, my father will be home tomorrow, and I have to pay a lot of money just for some little stitches. Well, I don't know if they are little. I haven't seen them yet. Slowly, I turn around and walk back over to Cato and Peeta. Peeta immediately stands up when I come over.

"Is your mom okay?" he asks.

"She has an actual disorder. It's not just something that will go away." I tell him. His eyes widen.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, how much do you have to pay?"

"$750.43." I sigh. "Peeta, I don't know how I'm going to pay."

"We'll figure something out, okay?" he whispers, looking into my eyes. I nod, and he sadly smiles at me. Suddenly, Cato pipes up.

"You need help paying the bill?" Both Peeta and I look over at him, and I can tell that Cato isn't joking. He actually wants to help me pay for my mom.

"Would you be able to?" I squeak, and he nods.

"Yeah, sure." He smiles, standing up. "Now, what was your mom's name again?"

"Annie Odair."

"Okay." With that, Peeta and I watch as he walks over to the front desk and talks to the person working. After a minute, he pulls out his wallet and counts through all of the money inside. Once he seems to have found a money amount, he gets the money out and places it on the counter. The person working takes it and nods to dismiss Cato. Wait, why in the world would he do that?

**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? 'meh'? Tell me what you think! :) Sorry if it's not too good, I wrote this when I was about half asleep (because it seems like that's my main kind of consciousness now), but hopefully it's okay! :)**

**RANDOM WORDS OF THE DAY:**

_**"I may not be much, but I'll always be here."**_

**-SopranoGhostWriter :)**


	4. Author's Note: Important! Please read!

**Hello my wonderful readers. Welcome to this author's note. **

**Let's just get to the point: I have no clue at all when the next time I will be posting the next chapter of this story. I can tell you this, though...**

**The next chapter of ****_The Girl of Stone _****will be very soon! :D**

**It's gonna be action packed and full of emotions, because yes, it's that time again... THE BLOODBATH. Just giving you a sneak peek, because it seems that I'm very good at giving away what happens in books/movies. I won't give away any more, though, because I want suspense in the air!**

**-SopranoGhostWriter :)**


	5. TWBB Update

**Hi. Well, I've got some bad news. I'm discontinuing Tomorrow Will Be Better. My writer's block for that story is permanent. So, if you would like to adopt it, please DM me first and/or credit me in the description. Thanks.**

**-SopranoGhostWriter**


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